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3/5
“Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.”
Before she was a powerful witch, Circe was the daughter of Helios and a lost soul in a realm of Greek Gods and Goddesses. After being ostracized and forced to spend eternity on an island, alone, Circe becomes one of mythology’s most powerful sorceresses.
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As a lead Circe is flawed and jealous which lends her to be gloriously relatable, too often in fiction, a characters weaknesses feels more like a strength, but with Circe you feel the frustration and pain, making her a refreshing protagonist.
There are countless other historical figures mentioned throughout the novel including the likes of Odysseus, Helios and Hermes but there’s no denying, that even with the mention of a mischievous Greek God, it’s Circe you want to hear from.
The language Miller uses throughout the novel feels like a combination of modern dialogue and mythological charm, the humor is subtle but evident and Circe’s inner monologue thrives and languishes just like its narrator.
At times the story felt stagnate, or as though we had lived this life already but perhaps that was intentional, as there was no denying Circe’s world – bother inner and outer – was not always full of vigor.
At it’s core, Circe is a candid exploration of the treatment of women, and how – no matter the decade – the battle for feminism is one we will always have to fight.
Emily xo
Emily Vierke 